Originally Posted by Joe Mullin
Apple has not been shy about going after competitors in court in recent years, and those battles have not been limited to the giant patent lawsuits with Samsung that have garnered worldwide attention. In a federal trademark lawsuit set in Oakland, the company sued Amazon over its use of the phrase "App Store for Amazon," saying it infringes on the trademark for Apple's App Store.

Amazon responded in court papers, arguing that the words "app" and "store" are both generic phrases that can't be trademarked.

Now, after more than two years of litigation, Apple has dropped its case. There was no settlement; Apple just walked away before a trial. It had to give Amazon a "covenant not to sue" over the issue, or else Amazon would have continued with its counterclaims seeking to knock out Apple's trademark.